Author's Notes- Honestly, this is just going to be a bunch of one-shots that I will write whenever I get inspired.
Also, at the time of writing this chapter, I have only seen the first eight episodes, so I am sorry if there are any inaccuracies. However, I hope to have seen all of the episode by the time I start writing the next chapter.
I was having a bit of trouble with the title, so that may or may not change in the future.
He had still been processing what had happened when he heard them.
Everything was a blur from the moment he first laid eyes on his son, but one thing was absolutely certain. Blind. His boy was blind. He had hoped whilst he had been clutching his screaming son's body to his own that the damage hadn't been permanent. That the doctors could miraculously cure his ailment.
But as soon as the doctor came into the room it was more or less confirmed. Matt would never ever see again.
Jack felt tears well up in his eyes as he made his way through the cafeteria. The doctors had convinced him that if he kept neglecting himself he would not be helping Matt in the slightest. However, the moment he bought what he wanted he was going to go back up to his sleeping son's room and return to his perch beside Matt's bed.
Jack made his way across the salad bar, not even noticing exactly what he was placing beside of his burger, just that the faster that he got his food the faster he would be able to get back to Matt.
Jack sniffed and wiped the tears from his eyes. Don't cry, he told himself, you have to be strong for Matt.
Oh, God, Matt. He couldn't even begin to imagine what his son would be going through these next few months. Next few months? Try the rest of his freaking life, Jack thought to himself as he went through the check-out line.
Jack paid for his food and walked away, passing a group of nurses as he did so. He had meant to make his way straight past them without even stopping, but then he heard a few snippets of their conversation.
"- about that boy that came in this morning?" A man sporting a closely shaven head and blood shot eyes said.
Jack stopped in his tracks, trying to maintain a grip on his food as he hoped they weren't talking about what he thought they were talking about.
"No, what?" A native American woman said, clutching a clipboard tightly to her chest.
"A boy came in around 10:30. Apparently he was in some sort of accident and something got in his eyes. I think he's permanently blind now." The man said.
"Yeah, I heard about that." Another woman said, moving her wavy blond hair out of her face. "Poor kid. He looked like he had so much potential."
Jack had had enough. How dare they talk about his son that way. Like . . . like he was completely useless now that he couldn't see. He strode up toward them, his hands shaking in barely concealed rage.
"Excuse me." Jack said.
"Oh, hey. Do you need some help with something." The man said, turning around to face him.
"Yes, um, Benjamin." Jack said, reading the man's nametag. "I'm sorry but, I just overheard you three talking about my son."
"Well, I mean- help me Nicole." She said to the Native American woman.
"What we mean, sir," Nicole said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "is that we understand how difficult it must be for you to go through this. Now that you have a child who is blind.
"Yeah, now you'll have to look after your son for the rest of your life. That- that's got to be just terrible." Benjamin said.
Jack shook Nicole's hand off. "I'm sorry, but what I'm getting from this is that you think that my son- who is brilliant, by the way- will be totally and completely helpless for the rest of his life."
"No, no, no, sir. That's not what we're saying at all. It's just that . . .well, you have to admit that there will be some stuff that your son just won't be able to do anymore, and with a lot of other things he will need a lot of help."
Jack mulled over what they had just said to him. "Yeah, well, that may or may not be true. But you are all forgetting one thing."
"What's that?" Benjamin asked.
"My son is a fighter, no matter what happens, I am sure he will be able to get through this." Jack said. He walked away from them, feeling for the first time since the accident that things would be okay.